Very generally, a typical electrical connector combination includes a plug connector and a receptacle connector, both of which mount or house interengageable electrical terminals. The plug connector is inserted into or mated with the receptacle connector to interengage the terminals. The terminals may take a variety of configurations, including male and female or pin and socket terminals.
A known type of female socket terminal is elongated and has a terminating end and a contact end. The terminating end may be adapted for termination to an electrical wire, for instance. The contact end is box-shaped or generally rectangular in cross-section for receiving a male or pin contact or terminal. The female socket terminal typically is stamped and formed from sheet metal material, and spring sections may be stamped therefrom for resiliently gripping the pin contact or terminal. On the other hand, separate spring contact elements have been used with such female socket terminals.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,428, dated Aug. 15, 1995, a female socket terminal employs a separate spring element to resiliently grip an inserted pin contact or terminal. In particular, the female socket terminal disclosed therein is generally rectangular in cross-section and includes a bottom plate portion having two sides. A pair of opposing side plate portions extend upwardly from both sides of the bottom plate portion. Two lug engagement holes are formed in the two side plate portions immediately adjacent the bottom plate portion. A pair of opposing top plate half portions extend inwardly from upper ends of the side plate portions. A spring element is mounted within the female terminal and includes a spring body and a pair of lug portions engaged within the lug engagement holes formed in the two side plates portions near the bottom plate portion. During assembly, the top plate half portions and the side plate portions are spread apart to allow insertion of the spring element transverse to the longitudinal direction of the terminal until the lug portions of the spring element engage within the lug engagement holes formed in the two side plate portions near the bottom wall.
Problems are encountered with female socket terminals as described above in relation to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,428 patent. One problem may occur when the top plate half portions are not planar to each other resulting in a reduced surface contact area between the mating pin and the top wall. A second problem may occur because the spring element that grips the mating pin contact or terminal is mounted against the bottom plate portion of the female terminal and biases the male terminal upwardly against the top plate half portions which are joined at an open seam. This tends to open the seam and spread the opposing side plate portions of the female terminal which, in turn, reduces the contact forces on the mating male terminal. In addition, spreading and closing the female terminal tends to eventually loosen the intended interconnection. Lastly, assembling the spring element into the box-shaped female terminal transverse to the longitudinal direction of the terminal is a costly and cumbersome procedure.
The present invention is directed to solving the above problems and providing a box-type female socket terminal which is more reliable and easier to manufacture than the prior art.